


something i can't see

by KelseyO



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Mon-El Who, SuperCorp, acknowledges everything through 2x08, but it's so effing cute okay LIsTEN, first of all there is no smut to be found here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-09-07 00:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8776288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KelseyO/pseuds/KelseyO
Summary: Her brain is still too foggy to place the voice, but it’s not unfamiliar, and she forces her eyes open… and sees nothing. “Wh—what’s happening? Where am I? Why can’t I… Who are you?”“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” the voice coos, very close to her head, but there’s only murky fog beyond her pupils. “It’s Lena Luthor. You’re in my office.”In which Kara gets blown up by a Kryptonite bomb, goes temporarily blind, and tries her very best. Spoilers through 2x08. Title from "Be Concerned" by twenty one pilots.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by skywarrior108 and usuallyproperlyhydrated, the latter of whom called me a demon for writing this.

She hears the call over a police radio on her way home—suspicious package outside L-Corp, bomb squad en route, evacuate the area—and whooshes off in that direction. Her takeout is scheduled for delivery in twenty minutes but explosives can usually be dealt with in two, so as long as there’s fry-able circuitry or the device is easy to relocate to where it won’t hurt anyone, she’ll soon be devouring potstickers at their ideal temperature.

The package is surrounded by police tape on all sides and a row of cruisers blocks off each end of the street. She lands right at ground zero, listens to echoes of _“Supergirl is on location”_ crackle around the plaza, then aims her x-ray vision at the unassuming box a few yards ahead.

There’s no timer, just a piece of very alien-looking tech, and she hasn’t even finished her thought about calling Alex when a violent wave of bright green blasts her backwards; every inch of her burns as the Kryptonite surges through her body, and she’s unconscious before she hits the ground.

 

< \- >

 

Either the DEO medical wing finally upgraded to actual beds like she’s been begging them to, or the exam tables have gotten outrageously comfier in the last few days. And the temperature is different; even the smell, somehow.

“What happened?” she mumbles as she comes to, not yet opening her eyes or really moving at all, because _ouch_. Alex doesn’t answer, nor J’onn, but she remembers the flash of green, the special pain that comes from the only substance in the universe that can harm her. “That bomb wasn’t meant for humans,” she manages, “it was meant for—”

“For you, apparently.”

Her brain is still too foggy to place the voice, but it’s not unfamiliar, and she forces her eyes open… and sees nothing. “Wh—what’s happening? Where am I? Why can’t I… Who are you?”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” the voice coos, very close to her head, but there’s only murky fog beyond her pupils. “It’s Lena Luthor. You’re in my office. I saw what happened and had security bring you up.”

“Was anyone else hurt?”

She tries to sit up but a gentle hand on her shoulder keeps her in place. “Just you. And based on the shape you’re in, I’d say that was the intention.”

Kara blinks a few times. “My eyes.”

“Milky-green isn’t your natural color, if I remember correctly.”

Her hand flies up to touch her own face in spite of the pain lurking in every individual muscle. “I need to go,” she whispers, attempting again to sit up, but she’s groaning and grimacing and completely exhausted within seconds, and Lena doesn’t have to force her back down this time.

“I think you need to stay here and rest until you’re running on more than five-percent battery.”

Kara glances around determinedly as if her vision will suddenly come back. “Whoever made that thing knew what they were doing. Is this what a hangover feels like?”

Something is poured and then set near her head with a quiet _clunk._ “They can’t be _that_ smart, since they chose to blow you up in front of a corporation owned by a very resourceful CEO. Are you thirsty? Do aliens get dehydrated?”

Cold, smooth glass presses against her palm and her fingers flinch at the contact, but then she grips it carefully and takes a few sips with Lena’s help.

“I’ve got it,” Lena says, her own fingers overlapping with Kara’s, and Kara lets go of the glass. “So, what’s the protocol for Kryptonite exposure? This can’t be your first rodeo.”

Kara shakes her head. “I’ve never gotten hit with this much before. Usually I just have to wait it out, but I also usually can stand upright and, y’know, see.” Her eyes are burning now, and it has nothing to do with the explosion. “What am I gonna do?”

The edge of the couch by Kara’s stomach dips under Lena’s weight. “My people are analyzing the mechanism’s fragments as we speak. I can’t promise I’ll know what any of the information means, but maybe you will.”

“Why are you helping me? Why do you _keep_ helping me?” She hopes she’s looking at least vaguely in Lena’s direction.

“Because powerful women need to stick together. Plus—you save me from a fiery helicopter death, I save National City from losing its one positive alien icon. Repeatedly.”

She hates not being able to read Lena’s face. “So all of this has been a PR move? I hope you don’t expect me to become a spokesperson for that alien detection device.”

“Supergirl’s been reading CatCo Magazine.”

“Kara Danvers is a close friend of mine.” A brand new shock goes through her system, not because referring to herself in third-person is anything new, but because her still-muddled brain has connected her human name with her human profession with her current alien handicaps, and she’s suddenly upright. “Oh no,” she blurts, wincing at the pain but pushing it away. “What am I—I-I mean, what is _she_ going to do if—” She freezes.

There’s a heavy beat of silence. “If what?”

Kara clears her throat. “Uh. I-if… I mean, it was still a bomb, right? So there may have been other damage, y’know, around the city. And we—we don’t really know what effects Kryptonite has on humans yet… I’m just a little… worried about National City’s boldest new reporter, is all.”

A phone rings across the room and Kara’s heat vision goes off before she can stop it; the smell of burnt plastic hits her nostrils and she collapses back onto the couch. “Sorry.”

“At least we know your eyes aren’t completely useless.”

“But I have no idea if they actually still work, or if that was just my instincts. For all I know, I’ll never be back to normal.”

A set of fingernails tap against the coffee table once, twice, three times. “Only one way to find out.” The weight beside her disappears. “Do you trust me?”

“Do I have a choice?” Kara challenges, and swallows hard when she feels one gentle hand take hers and another grip her shoulder. Lena helps her slowly sit up, gives her a moment to adjust and breathe, and then delicate fingertips turn her head just a little. “What are you doing?”

“Try it again. Aim straight ahead.”

Kara lets out the smallest puff of air and focuses what little energy she has on her eyes, and soon she hears something crumble to the floor. “Did it work?”

The fingertips brush down her cheeks, her neck, and Lena squeezes her shoulders. “Perfectly.”

“What was that?”

“A wall I’ve been meaning to knock down. I think it’ll open up the space nicely.”

Kara laughs a little, then winces and lets Lena ease her back against the cushions again. “Where’s that water?” The glass is placed in her hand again and she aims, takes a deep breath, and blows out, then coughs a few times as the temperature drops against her palm. “Freeze breath is still good,” she wheezes.

“You're exhausting yourself,” Lena says gently and takes the glass away. “You should rest.”

“Nothing an L-Corp-grade espresso machine can't fix,” Kara manages, but doesn't move another muscle, and she thinks her eyes might be closed.

Lena chuckles softly. “Goodnight, Supergirl.”

 

< \- >

 

“We know she’s in there. Release her to us and we won't harm any of your humans.”

“Start with Richard from Accounting. He calls me a bitch when he thinks I can’t hear and I know for a fact he’s cheating on his wife.”

Kara awakes with a start and sits up a lot more easily than she did the first few times; a reassuring hand squeezes her shoulder. “Where are they?” she whispers.

“Right outside.”

“Is the door reinforced?”

“From Earth-based intruders? Of course,” Lena mutters, sounding calmer than Kara expects.

“And from intergalactic ones?”

She feels Lena shrug. “I assume we’re about to find out.”

Kara takes a deep breath in and out; she already feels a little stronger. “Aim me at the door,” she instructs, holding out her hand, but Lena doesn't move. “My heat vision can burn through virtually anything. You really wanna let me guess?”

Lena takes her hand and pulls her up off the couch. Kara steps forward, lets Lena pivot her body, and waits.

“You don't have to do this. My office is very well-equipped, I can assure you.”

“What, are you gonna detect the aliens to death?”

Lena lets out a sharp sigh and disappears—or, she moves away from Kara—then a drawer opens and there's a distinct _click_ of ammunition being loaded.

“What are you doing?” Kara demands.

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

“You don't need a gun. I'm right here and perfectly…” Kara hesitates. “Mostly capable of defending us both.”

She can practically hear Lena’s eye roll. “You also got blown up a few hours ago.”

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three,” Kara states with as much confidence as she can.

Another _click_. “Wrong.”

“Seriously,” she insists, “I can do this. Look! I’m standing upright! No problem!” Something small and hard hits her collarbone and her heat vision goes off again, this time with more force.

“You just blasted a hole in the door,” Lena announces, sounding more irritated than scared.

Kara pouts in her general direction. “You just threw a—a…?”

“An apple.”

“You threw an apple at me!”

“To demonstrate why the gun is perfectly reasonable. If you can’t protect yourself from a piece of fruit, how will you—?”

A small explosion interrupts them and suddenly Lena’s perfume is right in front of Kara’s face.

“Good afternoon, boys,” Lena says sweetly. “Did you take care of Richard like I asked?”

“We only want the Kryptonian,” someone growls.

“I already told you that isn't going to happen. At the very least, you'll have to go through me first.”

Kara reaches forward and navigates around, then in front of, Lena. “Don't be an idiot,” she grumbles under her breath.

“I'm not the one who's being an idiot,” Lena hisses and once again puts herself between Kara and whoever’s on the other side of the room.

“You really want to be in front of me the next time my heat vision goes off on instinct?” Kara asks pointedly, earning another loud sigh, but Lena lets her step forward again.

“Enough!” the other voice bellows, and the floor trembles beneath their feet. “Surrender yourself before we lose our patience.”

“Now that I think about it,” Kara replies, “aliens are a lot less intimidating when you can’t see how big or scary they are.”

“We will take you by force if we have to.”

“How do I know you’re not, like, three feet tall?”

An angry roar slices through the room and Kara once again feels Lena’s fingertips at her temple, her cheek, her jaw. “Now!”

A burst of heat surges from her eyes, then another, and she keeps firing as Lena turns her head. “Am I getting them?”

“You’re getting them to move a lot faster,” Lena answers, and puts even less space between her and Kara.

Kara feels movement in front of her and swings her fist but only hits empty air, then something blasts her square in the chest and they’re both knocked to the ground. “Lena?”

“I’ve got you,” she grunts as she braces Kara from behind.

“No, are you _okay_?” Kara doesn’t get a response, only feels Lena aim her again, and she shoots without hesitation.

There’s a loud commotion across the room a split second later and Kara turns on her own, but Lena shields Kara’s eyes completely. “Wait.”

Gunshots, then silence, then a voice belonging to the most important person in her life.

“Supergirl!”

“Alex!” She gets to her feet with some help from Lena and freezes. “Where… where are you?” Several hurried boot-steps later she’s engulfed in a tight hug.

When Alex pulls back, she tucks a few locks of hair behind Kara’s ears and doesn’t speak right away. “The Kryptonite infected your eyes,” she observes quietly.

“I’m _fine_ , I promise.”

“No, you’re not,” Alex and Lena retort in unison.

Kara crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m mostly fine. And what took you so long?”

“We’ve been trying to get to you for hours. National City is on complete lockdown because of those bombs.”

“Bombs, plural?” Kara echoes. “Are they all Kryptonite or is each designed to harm a different alien species?”

“Questions we’re still trying to answer. We’ll take it from here,” Alex says, presumably to Lena, then puts her arm around Kara to lead her away. “C’mon, we need to start you on dialysis.”

Kara stumbles forward a few steps, but eventually plants her feet. “Alex, wait a second. Just… wait.” She turns back and uses just a touch of super-hearing to find Lena still standing a few yards away. “I just wanted to say—” Four fingertips on each cheek turn her head a little, and she blushes more than she’d like to as she rotates her body to match the angle. “Thank you. For everything. For stopping your mother, and for protecting me.” She wills her vision to work again, even just for the next ten seconds, but all she gets is a moment of unreadable silence.

“I’ll see you next time, Supergirl.”

“Hopefully by then I can see you too,” she jokes, gesturing at her eyes.

Lena lets out the smallest gasp. “I’m sorry, that was insensitive of me.” She’s quiet for another beat. “Could you drop by once you recover? So I know you’re alright?”

Kara wishes she could stop blushing. “Sure.”

“Supergirl,” Alex calls out, “it’s time to go.”

Gentle hands are on her shoulders before she can say another word; they turn her around, and then there’s warm breath against her ear.

“Straight ahead,” Lena whispers.

 

< \- >

 

She’s so nervous, or maybe excited, or maybe both, about this meeting that she forgets her notebook and pen at home and has to buy new ones on the way, which has her arriving at L-Corp five minutes late because flying would’ve made her hair look awful.

It’s been a very Kara Danvers kind of morning.

“You should’ve been here seven and a half minutes ago!” the receptionist hisses as she scrambles for her phone. “She’s going to think I delayed you again.”

“It wasn’t your fault, I had to—”

She pauses her dialing. “Would you be willing to submit that in writing?”

Kara jerks her thumb toward the elevators. “Or… I could just go upstairs and tell her—”

“Yes, please, go, she’s been expecting you for five minutes and twenty-one seconds.” She hits a few more buttons and snaps to attention. “She’s on her way up, Miss Luthor. No, I didn’t make her sign in…”

The door to Lena’s office has already been restored to pristine condition, and it’s wide open when she reaches the top floor. She finds Lena’s desk empty, a sight so strange it stops her in her tracks.

“Come in, Kara,” Lena says from her seat on the couch, sipping a mimosa like this is their daily routine. “Forgive my spontaneity, but I thought we could be a little less formal today. That bomb forced Supergirl into quite a vulnerable position, and I think it’s only fair if our discussion recreates that vulnerability.”

“You’ve thought about this a lot.”

Lena takes her time with the next sip. “It’s a critical part of my job to be thorough.”

Kara adjusts her glasses and opens her notebook. “So, can you, um. Begin by describing what happened last week?”

“I’m not sure what I can tell you that hasn’t been all over the news. I’d been watching it all play out, I saw Supergirl arrive, and then that ominous flash of green… When she didn’t get back up, I sent my team down to retrieve her.”

“Why didn’t you let the police handle it?”

Lena scoffs. “They may support and even appreciate extra-terrestrial assistance, but they don’t know the first thing about the science behind the super-powers. The biology.” Now she shrugs. “I’ve seen firsthand what she can do—been up-close and personal with most of her abilities—and I figured I could provide better assistance.”

“If Supergirl hadn’t already saved your life, would you have saved hers?” The question pops out so unexpectedly that Kara’s hand almost flies over her mouth, but by then the damage is done and she has to watch Lena’s jaw muscles work through whatever response she’s chewing on.

“That’s the sort of question one only asks if they think the answer might be ‘no’.”

Kara’s pen snaps in her hand and she shoves it into her purse. “I-it’s a critical part of my job to be thorough.”

The corner of Lena’s mouth twitches. “National City’s boldest new reporter, indeed.” She downs the rest of her drink. “It’s not just a PR move, if that’s what you’re getting at. Supergirl doesn’t seem to trust me, but I mean it sincerely.”

“I trust you,” Kara blurts.

Lena laughs softly. “Well, put in a good word for me, would you?”

She sets her empty glass on the coffee table then double-takes. “Kara, your hands are covered in ink.”

“Oh, _shoot_ ,” Kara mutters, staring down at the dark blotches on her skin. “I think my pen leaked. Could I use your bathroom?”

“Of course. Take a left at the end of the hall, then it’s straight ahead.”

Kara freezes halfway off the couch. “Excuse me?”

Lena’s looking at her curiously. “Down the hall,” she repeats, “take a left, then straight ahead.” She cocks an eyebrow. “Do you need me to walk you there?”

“Nope, mm-mm, I got it,” Kara insists as she scrambles to her feet, then bolts from the room before… well, she’s actually not quite sure, to be honest. Of that, or why she’s breathing so hard when she reaches the bathroom, or why she decided to try to take notes about Lena Luthor with something from a clearance bin.

Oh right, because she spent all morning thinking about _“Do you trust me?”_ and _“You’ll have to go through me first”_ and not about the special super-strength-resistant pens J’onn gave her when she started her new job or making sure they were in her bag.

She rolls her eyes at herself and puts the faucet on full blast, adds several pumps of soap, and starts to scrub.

_“That’s the sort of question one only asks if they think the answer might be ‘no’.”_

Kara wonders why they would put such heavy duty ink inside such a piece-of-crap pen, and adds more soap.

_“Could you drop by once you recover? So I know you’re alright?”_

The water is finally getting darker as her hands get lighter.

_“I know what it’s like to be disillusioned by your parents. But I’m a pretty good judge of character, and you are not like your mother.”_

She thinks about Lillian and Lex Luthor, and about Lena and L-Corp and distancing yourself from darkness, and scrubs harder; thinks about waking up in Lena’s office, and about fingertips against her temple and cheek and jaw, and about _“I’ve got you,”_ and abruptly turns the water off.

It’s not until she crosses the threshold of Lena’s office that she realizes she didn’t dry her hands. “Supergirl trusts you,” she announces breathlessly as she shakes away the excess water. “Wait, crap, I’m getting your floor wet.”

“It’s alright,” Lena says, slowly putting down her tablet then opening the top drawer of a bureau against the adjacent wall. “Would you like a hand-towel?”

“Yeah, actually, that would be great. There were plenty of paper towels in there, by the way. I just kind of—forgot to—” She trails off as Lena approaches her, holding out the towel, and then remains directly in front of her while Kara dries off.

“Did she tell you she trusts me?”

Kara’s eyes snap to Lena’s and then drop back down to the towel. “Mm-hmm.” Lena doesn’t say anything and Kara clears her throat. “Do you not believe her?”

“She hasn’t given me much reason to. It’s been a week since the bomb and I’ve only seen her in headlines. I’d hoped she would—”

“I’m sure she _absolutely_ will come back at some point.” She locks eyes with Lena again. “N-not that I can really speak for Supergirl. Y’know, she’s her own alien, and she’s probably very busy, but I bet she has you pencilled in somewhere.” Lena is still staring at her. “At least, I assumed that’s what you were—I mean, you put all that effort into helping her out. Of _course_ you’d want her to follow up. Make sure there’s a clean bill of health and all that.”

The corner of Lena’s mouth twitches again. “Are you done?”

“Yes.” She takes a moment to catch her breath, then Lena gestures expectantly to the towel. “Oh! With the—yes, all set. Thank you for… for that.”

Lena turns away to put the towel back and Kara glances down at her hands: dry, but faint shadows of ink are still visible.

“I think I have everything I need,” she says, and Lena closes the drawer so carefully it doesn’t make a sound. “Between your perspective and what Supergirl told me, I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened.”

“Well,” Lena replies, perching on the arm of the couch, “I look forward to seeing your take on it.”

Kara nods, and finds herself walking toward Lena again, one step at a time. “Thank you for agreeing to the interview. “I know how busy you are.”

“It was a pleasure,” Lena assures her, “and I’m never too busy for Kara Danvers.”

Now that Lena’s right in front of her again, she has no idea what to do except offer her hand, which Lena accepts without hesitation. But then she leans in close, maybe holding her breath the whole time, and kisses Lena gently on the cheek.

“I’ll see you next time.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing's a oneshot when you live with Evil Persuasive Roommate ProfessorSpork. Beta'd by usuallyproperlyhydrated and SkyWarrior108.
> 
> (Your comments were great. Thank you for taking the time to show me love.)

By the time they seal the containment cell, Kara already has her glasses on and hair up. “Is there anything in my teeth?” she asks Winn, smiling big and leaning in so close he has to lean back.

“Uh—no…?”

“Great! Tell Alex I’ll be back later.” She’s switched outfits but her cape is still falling through an opening in her bag.

Winn gets up and scrambles to tuck the red out of sight. “Aren’t you gonna stick around to hear what that little guy’s voice sounds like? I think it’ll be super high-pitched but J’onn bet me ten bucks that it’s deeper than his.”

“Can’t, I have to go interview Lena.” She pats her pockets then checks her bag, muttering to herself. “Notebook, super-pens, notebook, super-pens… gotcha!” she concludes, then narrowly avoids colliding with an agent coming around the corner.

“Did you finally find coffee that’s strong enough for you, or what?”

Kara adjusts her glasses. “Nope, no coffee. Just—”

“Super, duper chipper today,” Winn finishes for her. “And didn’t you interview her already? Like, one-and-a-half times now?”

She waves him off. “Articles can overlap, Winn. She’s very knowledgeable, and I think she might have some relevant insights into—things.”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “Okay, alright, never doubted you. Are we still on for a _Drunk History_ marathon later?”

“Only if you also get drunk and do an impression of his voice,” she replies, jerking her thumb toward the cell.

“You got it.” He slides back into his rolling chair. “And tell Lena I said hello. The guy who helped her with that thing under the stage that time? Not with a sex thing,” he blurts. “A nerdy tech thing. Just, if she doesn’t remember my…” He clears his throat. “Say hello to her the regular, normal way.”

“You got it.”

 

< \- >

 

The mimosa is back and this time there’s two of them.

Lena is still laughing, palm pressed against her chest as she tries to catch her breath. “What a _riot_ . And he said that _after_ Alex cuffed him?”

“Not exactly the smartest member of his species,” Kara confirms. “Um, which obviously is the human race. But yeah, when Supergirl told me that story I almost peed my pants.”

“I certainly can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard,” she muses, then sighs, crossing one leg over the other. “So. Where would you like to start?”

“Maybe with this situation here,” Kara says, gesturing to the coffee table. “Are both of those for you, or are you trying to get me drunk so I’ll spin the piece more favorably? Not that it would even work, since I’m…” She freezes, struggling for words that aren’t “an alien”.

Lena tilts her head curiously. “Firmly devoted to journalistic integrity?” she offers.

“Yeah! Exactly. And, um, allergic to orange juice.”

Lena smiles, reaching for one of the glasses and raising it in a “cheers” gesture. “More for me, then.”

Kara spends a lot more time watching Lena take a sip of her drink than coming up with an actual question, and as soon as Lena makes eye contact again, she tries to look thoughtful instead of lost. “So, that attack at the L-Corp rebranding ceremony. It required intervention from the FBI.”

“Your sister.”

“My sister,” Kara confirms. “And I know I already did that feature on you, but I was thinking… maybe instead of one reporter talking about one powerful woman, it might be more effective to have powerful women talking about one another. Building each other up. Showing everyone that National City isn’t a competition, but a community.”

“Smart.”

Kara blushes. “So, if you could give me any thoughts about that experience… what you remember about what happened, your impression of Al—I mean, Special Agent Danvers. What her assistance meant to you.”

“Of course.” Now she’s staring down into her drink. “Well, I’ve certainly had a gun pulled on me once or twice, so that wasn’t anything new. The truth is, between my mother and Lex, I’m a lot more used to… every terrible thing that’s associated with my last name, than most people are. And sometimes I’m afraid that a law enforcement individual—maybe one who’s been affected by my brother somehow—will see my vulnerability as an opportunity for vengeance, rather than heroism.” A heavy pause. “With that said, I’m very grateful I could trust her to do the right thing.” Lena watches Kara scribble a few notes. “She must be a wonderful big sister.”

Kara nods eagerly. “She made me feel so supported and safe growing up. She’s really good at seeing past what everyone else thinks and focusing on what she knows is true.”

“Certainly a quality to aspire to.”

Her notebook and super-pen are on the table now. When did she stop taking notes? “I honestly wish I could be half the sister she is. When she met Maggie I realized how self-absorbed I’ve been, basically since the beginning of time. Her helping me feel normal took up so much space that I forgot about _her_ feelings. But Alex seems a lot happier now that she’s not holding all that stuff in anymore. I think Maggie is great for her, and I’m trying to be better, too.” She gets lost in thought for an embarrassing length of time before she realizes Lena is watching her kind of the same way Winn watches cat videos. Kara straightens her posture. “I-I’m so sorry, that was kind of a… a tangent, there,” she says, then sighs. “This hasn’t really been much of an interview, has it?”

Lena shrugs a shoulder, still smiling. “I’ve enjoyed it all the same.”

Kara nibbles her lip, adjusts her glasses. “Maybe we could have more non-interviews in the future.”

“My door is always open, Kara.” Lena finishes off her drink and relaxes back into the couch cushions. “You’re welcome here any time.”

“Th-thank you,” Kara barely manages to get out, then checks her watch. “Unfortunately, I should probably…”

“I’ll see you next time,” Lena interrupts gently, still smiling that _smile_ Kara can’t quite wrap her head around.

Kara nods again and gets to her feet, focusing on each individual step so she doesn’t make a fool of herself on the way out.

“Kara?”

“Yes?” she replies immediately and turns around.

Lena is sipping her second mimosa. “Your notebook.”

So much for not making a fool of herself. She rushes back and grabs her pad and pen. “Sorry! Thank you!” She makes it one step before turning back again. “Also, Winn says hello.”

“Who’s Winn?”

“He helped you with a nerdy tech thing under the stage that one time.”

Lena thinks for a beat. “Oh. Well, I say hello to Winn, I suppose.”

Kara keeps nodding. “I’ll let him know.”

“And what about Supergirl?”

She stops in her tracks. “What _about_ Supergirl?”

“Does she say hello?”

Kara shrugs. “Of course she does.”

Lena is more sincere now. “Tell her I said hello as well.”

“Okay.”

“And that I miss her.”

Kara adjusts her glasses. “O-okay. Yeah. I can… I’ll be sure to forward that along.” She’s almost at the door when Lena speaks again.

“The three of us should sit down together sometime. I’m sure we would have a meaningful conversation.”

“Yeah, I’ll—um,” Kara stutters, “I’ll talk to her and see if I can make it happen.”

Lena smiles gratefully. “I can’t tell you how much I would appreciate that.”

“It’s really not a problem at all,” Kara assures her, then makes a face at herself the moment her back is turned. “What are you _doing_?” she hisses under her breath once she’s out of the room.

“Bringing Miss Luthor her two-o’clock latte,” the receptionist replies defensively as she approaches from the opposite end of the hallway.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t talking to you, I—”

Jess holds up a hand to silence her. “Not now. I’m bringing Miss Luthor her two-o’clock latte.” She breezes past Kara without another word.

Kara heads for the elevator. “She would not have survived Miss Grant.”

 

< \- >

 

“It’s open,” Kara calls out through a mouthful of cereal, and doesn’t look up from her notes as Alex enters her apartment. “I really don’t understand why you bother knocking.”

Alex pours two glasses of orange juice. “What if you’re with someone? I don’t wanna interrupt anything.”

Kara laughs and gives her a look. “Who would I be in here with?”

“I don’t know. You and James ended things pretty quickly. If you decide to give it another go—”

“We’re just friends, Alex,” she interrupts. “I’ve told you that a million times.”

Alex looks thoughtful. “Or there’s Mon-El and his puppy eyes…”

Kara shakes her head several more times than necessary. “That’s not… Absolutely not a thing,” she manages, nearly breaking the faucet as she turns on the sink to rinse her bowl.

“Uh-huh.”

But she doesn’t really notice Alex’s tone, because she’s watching the water swirl down the drain and thinking about ink and hand towels and lot of other things that have nothing to do with Daxam refugees.

There’s another knock at the door and she uses her X-ray vision to peek into the hallway. “Speaking of…” she says to herself as she dries her hands on her jeans and heads for the door.

“Is it Mon-El?”

“No, it’s Lena.”

“We weren’t talking about Lena.”

Kara opens the door and steps aside in the same motion to reveal a surprisingly casually-dressed CEO, who’s already beaming. “Lena! Hi!”

“I’m not intruding, am I?” she asks, glancing between Kara and Alex.

“No, not at all. I actually told the doorman that you’re to be let up immediately whenever possible.” She laughs at her own joke and it sticks in her throat just a little when Lena briefly squeezes her hand as she crosses the threshold.

Lena perches on a stool near Alex. “I’m actually thrilled that you’re both here. I have somewhat of a… well, I suppose it’s both an invitation and a favor.”

“Anything,” Kara replies immediately.

Alex keeps her expression neutral. “For both of us?”

Lena clasps her hands in her lap. “My last interview with Kara gave me a lot to think about. Not only what it means to support each other, but to do so as visibly as possible and with whatever resources we have.” She pauses to retrieve a postcard-sized piece of paper from her handbag and hands it to Alex. “I’d like to host another gala,” she continues, “but not as a trap for extra-terrestrial burglars. I’ve compiled a list of the most under-funded LGBT organizations in National City, and I want the event to benefit each and every one of them.”

Alex chokes on her next sip of juice. “Excuse me?”

“And I want you,” Lena says to her, “and Supergirl,” she says to Kara, “to be guest speakers.”

Kara exchanges glances with Alex and raises her glass to take a drink.

“Aren’t you allergic to orange juice?” Lena asks.

She spits what’s in her mouth back into the glass. “I… yes. I am. Blech.” Kara pushes the glass toward a very confused Alex. “I was just so distracted by your idea. I think it’s amazing!”

Lena looks delighted. “You think so?”

“I… don’t know,” Alex says slowly, reading the information on the card. “I’m really not good in front of crowds.” She hesitates. “And I mean, I know I’m out, but I’m not _out_ out.”

“I assure you there will be a thorough screening process,” Lena explains. “Only supporters will be allowed on the premises. I want everyone involved to feel absolutely safe.”

Alex is chewing her nail. “Still…”

Lena holds out a steadying hand. “There’s no pressure—I won’t force you to say yes. But please consider it.”

“We will,” Kara answers for her. “I mean. Alex will. And I’ll let Supergirl know.”

“I’d like you to be there too, Kara, as if that needs saying.”

Kara grins. “Of course I’ll come.”

“Outstanding! It’s a date.” She turns to Alex. “Keep the card and let me know what you decide. Kara can get you in touch with me.”

Lena lets herself out, and Kara casually reaches for her glass and takes several sips.

“Why does she think you’re allergic to orange juice?”

“It was an accident.”

“Did you accidentally tell her that I’m gay, too?”

Kara’s eyes go wide with alarm. “Oh my gosh. I didn’t even—I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I just—we were discussing things for my piece, and then we just kind of started talking, and I mentioned you and Maggie, and that must’ve been how she got the idea for the—”

“You and Lena talk now?” Alex interrupts, putting just enough emphasis on “talk” to make Kara’s face heat up.

Kara struggles with several responses before shrugging. “I talk to people. Lots of people. Isn’t that what humans do?”

“Not when the human is actually Supergirl and the human that they’re talking to doesn’t know that.” Alex stares her down for a beat. “Right?”

“Right! No, yeah, she doesn’t know.”

Alex raises an eyebrow. “But she does think you’re allergic to orange juice.”

“There were mimosas,” Kara exclaims, “and I made a joke about her trying to get me drunk, and then I was gonna make another joke about how that’s impossible since I’m an alien, but then I remembered I couldn’t say that, so I told her I’m allergic, and she apparently remembers things like that.” Kara adjusts her glasses and lets out a deep breath.

“So does Maggie,” is all Alex says in response.

She moves to the couch, and Kara’s not sure why the edge of the counter is warping underneath her grip.

 

< \- >

 

The space is packed, both with people and with rainbow versions of the L-Corp logo, everyone in rapt silence as Alex stands at the podium in the stunning black dress Lena insisted on loaning her for the night.

Everyone cheers as Alex exits the stage and all but collapses into Kara’s waiting arms.

“Alex, that was _incredible_ ,” she says, squeezing her hard.

“You killed it, Danvers,” Maggie agrees with the biggest smile and kisses her on the cheek.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” Alex replies breathlessly, looking shell-shocked but excited as she snatches a glass of champagne from a caterer passing by and downs half of it in one go. “I really did okay? I wasn’t…?”

“You were phenomenal,” Lena confirms, approaching them and raising her own glass toward Alex while her other hand drifts to the small of Kara’s back. “I didn’t see you arrive,” she says to Kara.

She adjusts her glasses and tries to be less fascinated with Lena’s very form-fitting purple dress. “Yeah, sorry. I got held up with work stuff so I was a little late. But I made it in time for Alex’s speech and I’m sure Supergirl can give me a recap of hers.”

“Speaking of which…” Lena looks around. “Where did she run off to?”

“There was an emergency. Really urgent.” Kara looks around at the decorations, at the guests smiling and laughing, at Alex dancing slowly with Maggie. “Everything looks amazing! I don’t know how you do it.”

Lena laughs softly. “All it takes is the right phone numbers in your contact list, and a little inspiration.” She’s looking at Kara in a way that makes her feel like she’s been drinking her special alien alcohol, and Kara can’t make her face stop smiling.

When her phone chimes, she has to try really hard not to crush it in her pocket and toss the fragments into the nearest punch bowl.

“Oh, shoot…” she says to herself when once she gets her eyes to read the text from Winn, which details an actual-very-real Supergirl emergency. “I, um—I’m so sorry, I have to go.”

“Is everything alright?”

Kara shoves her phone out of sight before Lena sees the screen. “Yeah! Just—uh. Winn—you remember Winn—he’s not feeling well. A cold or… food poisoning, or something. I just need to make sure he’s okay.”

Lena looks disappointed but sympathetic. “You’re a bit of a Supergirl yourself, Kara Danvers.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Kara replies, laughing maybe a little too loudly. “Nothing super about bringing someone some Pepto Bismol.”

“I think Winn would beg to differ,” Lena jokes, then leans in close and kisses Kara on the cheek. “Go save the world.”

Kara adjusts her glasses so aggressively they almost snap in half.

 

< \- >

 

James’s office is the only source of light on the floor as Kara makes her way around the rows of texts. “How’s he doing?” James asks when he hears the door open.

“The alien has been moved to a much stronger containment cell, and Winn is having a crisis over Lena thinking he has stomach problems. What’s up?”

“Well,” he begins, clicking through a series of folders on his computer, “you know I worked the event tonight at L-Corp.” She nods, and he points at one solitary file on the screen. “I have a whole memory card full of photos, but there’s one in particular I wanted you to see.” He clicks, and the image fills the screen.

Kara’s eyes flicker back and forth, taking in every inch of the photo. “James,” she whispers.

“Pretty cool, right?” he says with a grin.

She glances at him. “Can you print me a copy of this?”

“Already done.”

 

< \- >

 

She remembers getting to Lena’s office, but not the lying-down part, and at some point there’s weight beside her and a gentle hand at her shoulder.

“Kara?”

The voice is so soft that she doesn’t open her eyes until she suddenly recalls where she is and what she’s here for. She sits up, straightens her glasses, and takes in Lena still dressed to the nines from the gala. “Hi! Sorry!”

“Good morning, sleepyhead. What are you doing here so late?”

“I, um—I wanted to show you something,” Kara explains, digging into her bag. “My friend, James Olsen…”

Lena nods. “I’m familiar.”

“He was at the gala taking pictures, and he…” Kara glances down at what’s in her hand. “He took one that… That I think…”

“What? What is it?” Kara can’t hold back a smile as she turns the frame to face Lena, who stares in quiet awe. “I—I remember this moment perfectly, but I had no idea he was standing right there.”

Kara shifts over a few inches so she can look at the photo with Lena. “The way we’re standing onstage… the profile angle, you between me and the camera, the wind blowing… it’s like _you’re_ wearing a cape.”

Lena is speechless.

“I told him it looks like the cover of the next issue of CatCo Magazine.”

“Be your own hero,” Lena says quietly after a beat.

“Already suggested that for the headline.”

Lena is still staring at the picture. “This is… this is incredible.”

“So was the gala,” Kara says. “And the person who organized it all.”

“Thank you, Kara. Really, I mean it.” Lena stares at it for a beat longer before trying to hand it back to Kara.

She doesn’t let her. “This copy’s for you.”

Lena says nothing now, but looks maybe close to tears, and finally pulls Kara into a careful but sincere hug. “Let me call you a cab,” she says softly when they part. “It’s so late, I don’t want you to—”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I promise I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Kara nods. “Positive. I have my methods.”

The corner of Lena’s mouth twitches. “Methods, hm?”

“Top secret.”

“I suppose since your sister’s in the FBI, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Kara stands up and smoothes the wrinkles from her clothes. “Like I said, top secret.”

Lena watches Kara adjust her glasses.  “Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”

“What did I say?” Kara asks as casually as she can.

“That you’re not Supergirl.”

“Well, that’s not very exciting, then. Since I’m not.” Her whole face feels like it’s on fire, and she’s a little concerned Lena can hear how hard her heart is beating as she waits for more questions.

Lena just smiles. “Get home safe, Kara.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see, fam. I'm really, really sorry for that accidental hiatus--there's been a lot of real-life stuff going on, and some struggle between fic vs original work, to the point where I *almost* gave up on this story. It was stuck at 1,400 words for months, and then during a slow workday I reread the first two chapters and saw the light and finally powered through.
> 
> Anyways, God bless Lena Luthor, and please take an extra second or three to leave feedback so I know I didn't write 4,300 words of fluff for naught.

It’s Lena who who decides they should have lunch, but Kara who picks the place—partially because she doesn’t want to argue with Lena about a triple-digit bill at a restaurant that has marble floors and French menus, but also because the diner a few blocks away from her apartment has pancakes that are almost better than the best potstickers in National City.

(Almost.)

The waitress doesn’t bother asking Kara for her order (the family-sized stack of pancakes with extra bacon on the side) and Lena seems more amused than puzzled by this as she requests   their soup-of-the-day.

“So,” Kara says excitedly, “what d’you think? Not exactly five-star, but—”

“It’s quite charming,” Lena replies, taking a sip of coffee and glancing around the space. “I can see why you like it.” She cocks her head slightly, adds another packet of sugar to her mug. “Did you know that you get a little crinkle between your eyebrows sometimes?”

Kara adjusts her glasses as if they’ll hide it. “It’s been… very consistently pointed out to me, yes.” Lena’s still looking at her and she sighs. “Everyone thinks the crinkle means that I’m lying, or thinking really hard, or that something’s bothering me, or—but it’s not,” she insists. “I don’t have a tell. There’s nothing  _ to  _ tell.”

Their food is set on the table and Kara goes to work cutting her pancakes into bite-size pieces. “Okay,” she blurts through her first mouthful, “so maybe there’s like, this  _ one _ little thing that’s kind of…”

“I’m all ears,” Lena assures her, stirring her soup but never breaking eye contact. “What’s on your mind?”

Kara blushes into another few bites, chews slowly, swallows. “It’s not, like, this big deal or anything. Just… something happened a few weeks ago, and everything’s still mostly the same, but I do feel like certain things have changed, and I’m a bit confused about—about what it all means, I guess?”

Lena abandons her spoon and leans forward. “Confusion is a perfectly normal and natural part of being human. What is it that happened?”

“We really don’t have to talk about this if—I mean, you’re  _ so _ much more interesting than—”

“Kara, I’m the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar corporation built by an adoptive family whose surname is rife with scandal. Between the authorities and the press, I’m forced to talk about myself an exhaustive amount, so I frankly would love nothing more than to hear about whatever it is that’s troubling you.” She smiles warmly. “And given the Luthor legacy, there’s not a lot of information I can’t handle.”

That earns a soft laugh from Kara, and she takes a deep breath. “Do you remember Mon—Mike? The CatCo intern who invited himself to your gala?”

Lena’s expression shifts back to neutral. “I do.”

“He, um—h-he was in the hospital for a few days, and it really didn’t look good, and at one point he sort of… kissed me? But then later when he recovered he didn’t remember what happened. And I’m just wondering—is that… okay? He’s the one who kissed me, but I let it happen. Did I take advantage of him? Is something like that considered  _ assault _ ?” Kara takes a deep breath and a long sip of water while staring intently at her pancakes. “I’m just really afraid that I did something wrong.”

When she dares to look up, Lena is back to stirring her soup like there’s something peculiar at the bottom of the bowl. “If he kissed you, that’s hardly your fault.”

“Even if I—?”

“Kissed him back?” Lena offers quietly. Kara shrugs and Lena’s eyes finally flit to hers. “Did you  _ want _ him to kiss you?”

“I-I mean… I didn’t expect it, but it wasn’t, like,  _ revolting _ or anything.” She throws out her arms in frustration. “I don’t know,” she groans. “What’s your assessment?”

It feels like an eternity before Lena responds. “I think you would never intentionally hurt anyone, Kara.”

The words are a relief, but Lena’s tone isn’t as comforting, and now Kara’s stomach is in knots.

“You think I’m terrible,” she concludes, bits of pancake falling off her fork as her grip loosens.

“No, Kara,” Lena objects immediately, “that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Kara steels herself. “But?”

Lena seems to put an unusual amount of effort into her smile. “But nothing. You meant no harm. Perhaps it would be more beneficial to discuss this with Mike,” she finishes after a beat, almost coldly, before dabbing at her mouth with a napkin and setting it aside. “Please excuse me.”

She exits the booth and heads for the bathroom, and Kara kind of feels like she should ask for takeout boxes and the check.

 

< \- >

 

The three days of radio silence that follow are the longest she and Lena have gone without speaking since Kara can remember. By day four she’s wondering if Lena changed her phone number, and on day five she Googles excessive combinations of Lena’s name and L-Corp to make sure nothing disastrous has somehow slipped under CatCo’s or the DEO’s radar.

A week is the most Kara can bear before she lets herself into Lena’s building, and she only feels a little guilty about not greeting Jess as she breezes past the reception desk.

“Excuse me,” Jess calls after her.

Kara gestures toward the elevator without stopping. “I’m just here to see Lena.”

“Ms. Danvers,” she says, more firmly than usual, and Kara pauses mid-stride. “Ms. Luthor is currently unavailable.”

“Unavailable?” Kara glances down the hall and back again. “I promise it’ll be quick. I just need to—”

“She was very specific with her instructions.”

Kara’s breath stalls in her lungs and she adjusts her glasses.

Jess’s expression is neutral. “I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

“Thank you,” Kara manages, and she’s fiddling with the buttons of her shirt before she’s even out the front doors. She ditches her clothes and takes off from the alley across the street, but when she reaches Lena’s balcony, the door is closed and the windows are dark.

At first she thinks the lights are off, but then she realizes there are heavy black drapes covering each pane of glass; she takes a deep breath and looks through the cloth, kind of thoroughly dreading what she’s about to find, what Lena could possibly be hiding…

Except she’s sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer with a glass of wine in arm’s reach, and there’s nothing alarming in sight.

Kara raises her fist to knock on the door, then changes her mind and takes another steadying breath. “Lena? It’s Supergirl.”

Lena’s outline doesn’t move from her chair.

“Um. Kara was worried about you, so she asked me to make sure everything is okay.” Her hands grip each side of the door frame. “Could we talk? Just for a second?” She watches Lena for a long moment, then closes her eyes and tries to hone in on her heartbeat, but a helicopter flies by and Kara grits her teeth in frustration. Her hand seizes the door knob, knuckles turning white as her fingers strain against the metal—not because she can’t open it, but because she doesn’t know if she should. 

“Lena, can I come in?”

The other side of the glass remains silent and still.

Her hand shakes just a little as she lets go.

 

< \- >

 

The DEO has been silent all afternoon and Kara’s taken to spinning around in an extra chair because not moving feels like the most terrible option in the world right now. Winn is in the middle of archiving information from cold cases while Alex talks to Maggie in the corner, and even J’onn has resorted to spreading out backlogs of paperwork in the conference room.

Kara half-heartedly checks her phone between spins and sighs at the ever-blank screen, then flinches when the next half-spin puts her face-to-face with Alex and Maggie standing right behind her.

“Hey, lovebirds,” she chokes out, sitting up a bit and folding her hands on the desktop.

“You’re awfully quiet today,” Alex observes as Maggie perches on the edge of the desk.

Kara just shrugs. “So is all of National City, apparently.”

“Why don’t you head out early? Go meet up with Lena. I’m sure she could use a break from whatever she has going on.”

Kara plays with the hem of her cape. “It’s okay. She’s probably busy.”

“Hence why a break is important,” Maggie points out. “I can’t tell you how many rough days Alex has saved me from, just by getting me out of the precinct for an hour.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” Kara mumbles and swivels away from them.

Alex grips the back of her chair and spins Kara to face her again. “Why wouldn’t she want to see her best friend?”

Kara can’t meet their eyes. “I’ve been asking myself that same question,” she says before heaving herself out of the chair altogether. “I’m going to the training room,” she calls out to nobody in particular just as an alarm rings out, and stops in the doorway. “What is it?” she asks, more out of courtesy than concern.

“An explosion on National City Bridge,” J’onn announces, already squinting up at the wall of screens. “Winn?”

His fingers fly across the keyboard. “Seems to be human-on-human crime as far as the NCPD has reported…”

“Is there a motive yet?” Maggie asks with her cell phone to her ear. “A target?”

More typing, then: “ _ Oh _ .”

“Supergirl,” Alex says after a beat, concern leaking through her normally level tone.

Kara glances over her shoulder. “What is it?”

Winn pulls up something on the main screen. “A really specific, really important,  _ really _ classified document was being transported between two project teams.”

Another few clicks and then a picture of the face she hasn’t seen in days is staring back at her, and a heartbeat later she’s in the sky.

When she gets to the bridge the first thing she sees is the enormous gap in the middle where someone has blasted through the steel and concrete, and the second thing she sees is a set of skid marks that end with a limousine teetering right on the edge, leaning back and forth with every gust of wind.

She all but breaks the sound barrier on her way to ground level, then tries desperately to find a safe grip on the back bumper or the roof or  _ literally anywhere _ , but the metal is bent and broken about ten seconds from plummeting to the water below.

When she pries open one of the back doors instead, Lena is clinging to a headrest and doesn’t even react to Kara floating a few feet away.

“Give me your hand!” she calls out, reaching through the opening, but Lena doesn’t budge; Kara floats a little closer and gestures urgently. “Lena, I need to get you out of here.”

The limousine drops enough to make Kara's stomach do the same. “Please!” she begs as Lena squeezes her eyes shut. “You have to trust me!”

Lena looks at her now and opens her mouth to speak, but there's a sudden lurch and Kara has less than a split second to grab hold of Lena before the entire vehicle plunges off the bridge.

“Alright, you can put me down now,” Lena says, her voice tight with fear.

“It’s not safe here.” Kara twists in midair so gravity sends Lena falling into her embrace. “I’ve got you,” she promises, then sets off, going no faster than the gentle breeze around them, and Kara tries to focus on the route and not Lena’s warmth or perfume or how tightly she’s holding on.

Even once their feet are planted firmly on Kara’s living room floor, Lena doesn’t loosen her grip. Kara can’t see her face but she can feel her shaking.

“I’m sorry if I scared you,” she says quietly, brushing her fingertips along the curve of Lena’s shoulder blade.

Lena lets out a deep breath. “I’m sorry I almost didn’t let you save my life.” She’s silent for a beat. “Kara’s apartment?”

“I think you both would prefer that you weren’t alone right now.” She feels Lena nod, and hesitates for a beat. “And I think she really wants to see you,” she adds, then pulls back a little but doesn’t completely let go. “Is that okay?” Lena nods again, to Kara’s relief. “She’ll, um—she’ll be here soon. Make yourself at home.”

When Lena embraces her a second time, Kara has to focus on each individual arm muscle so she doesn’t crush her in return.

 

< \- >

 

It takes Kara a stupidly long time to get back to her apartment—her wardrobe swap is quick enough but preparing answers for all the questions she can possibly imagine Lena asking requires several laps around her block—and when she walks through the door and doesn’t see Lena, she assumes with a strangely aching chest that Lena went home. But then she notices a pair of heels by the coffee table, and a soft light coming from her bedroom, and heads in that direction.

“Lena?” she calls out quietly, then peeks around the curtain; Lena is fast asleep on top of Kara’s blankets, still wearing her skirt and blouse, but her tight bun is gone and waves of hair spill across the pillow.

Kara swallows hard, trying to ignore the sudden heat in her face, and crosses to the other side of the room, studying the very empty and Kara-sized portion of bed that remains. She begins to take off her glasses, but changes her mind and eases herself onto the mattress, facing Lena while keeping several inches between them as she curls up and lets out a deep breath.

“I agree,” she whispers, and then her eyes are closed.

 

< \- >

 

She’s vaguely aware of something touching her face, but then it’s gone, so she nuzzles into her pillow and only sort of wonders where the blankets went or why her pajamas feel so different. A few moments later there’s something in her hair, and it’s soft and gentle but not really supposed to be there, so she blinks her eyes open and frowns in confusion as Lena swims into view.

Lena is watching her thoughtfully as she brushes Kara’s hair behind her ear again, but her mouth bends into a small smile as Kara comes to. “I’m sorry I woke you. You fell asleep wearing your glasses, so I…”

Kara’s hand flies up to her face and she hides behind her palm for a few moments before she’s finally self-aware enough to… not do that.

“I shouldn’t have been so invasive. They just didn’t look very comfortable… a-and I’ve never seen you without them, so I was a bit… curious, quite frankly. Forgive me?” she asks way too sincerely.

“It’s, um—” Kara clears her throat, still not making eye contact with Lena. “It’s fine. I just wear them so much that when I don’t have them on, I kind of feel like a different person.”

Lena is still staring her down. “I’ve missed you,” she whispers, almost to herself, but continues before Kara can say anything. “I’m sorry for the other day, as well. For this whole week. You opened up to me, and I overreacted for selfish reasons.”

Kara shakes her head. “Lena, don’t—”

“Partially because I’ve been a little confused about something, myself. And I’m wondering… if you’d be my confidant again? If you might be able to help me the way I should’ve helped you.”

“Of course,” Kara replies, shifting closer before her brain can veto the action. “What is it?”

Lena doesn’t speak right away, and when she does, her voice is hushed; vulnerable. “Have you ever felt something for two people at the same time?”

Kara’s heart skips a beat. “What kind of something?”

“Affection,” she says carefully. “Butterflies. Certain… desires.”

“For…”

“Two people. Simultaneously. Equally.”

Kara wets her lips, thinking a whole lot about how this is the closest she’s ever physically been to Lena. “Are you, um. Are you saying that you do?”

“It’s something that I realized fairly recently, though I think it’s been true for a while.”

“Have you told them how you feel?” Kara asks, somehow both anticipating and dreading the answer.

Lena hesitates. “See, that’s part of the problem—I wouldn’t even know how to go about that. Do I sit down with both of them and explain? Do I speak to them individually? I don’t want either of them to think they’re any less important to me than the other. They’re both so kind, and smart, and brave, and warm, and…  and beautiful, and…” Her eyes are bright and sincere and looking directly into Kara’s. “They’re extraordinary.”

Kara reaches up to adjust her glasses and remembers too late that they’re not on her face; she turns the movement into a nose scratch. 

“What do you think I should do?” Lena asks.

“I mean, I know that on Daxam—uh, which is a show. On a really obscure channel you’ve probably never heard of,” Kara adds in a rush, then clears her throat, “they sometimes have multiple partners. I-I don’t know how they communicate about those… arrangements, but—” Kara forgets where she was going with any of this. “Um, do you see them regularly?”

The corner of Lena’s mouth twitches. “Fairly regularly, yes.”

“Okay, so… maybe just talk to whoever you run into first? Like, the next time you see one of them, just—go for it,” Kara says, hopefully like she knows what she’s talking about.

“Go for it,” Lena echoes thoughtfully.

Kara nods too many times. “Absolutely. Like… like you’re trying to negotiate a contract for L-Corp. Look them right in the eye, tell them what you want, and—well, you can’t really demand those things from someone. Okay, bad analogy.”

“I’m not so sure,” Lena replies. “The part about negotiating a contract… this would be a sort of proposal, after all. A declaration of the value I see in a potential partner, and how we might…  _ benefit _ each other, going forward.”

“Exactly! So now you’d just have to figure out how to… begin negotiations, I guess.”

Lena worries her bottom lip, pondering something that has her eyes on Kara’s as if she’s expecting her to reveal the secrets of the universe. “Well, I’ve found that directness can be paramount,” she says, her words soft yet deafening as her fingertips return to Kara’s hair.

Kara doesn’t process being pulled closer until she processes Lena’s face directly in front of hers, and there’s a puff of hot breath against her mouth followed by a pair of gentle lips, and the last time she felt this floaty she was at the bar and full of Kryptonian booze.

Then she pulls away to look around, because what if she  _ is  _ floating, and Lena looks equal parts embarrassed and horrified. 

“Kara, I'm—I'm  _ so  _ sorry, I should have formally asked your permission first. I can't believe I was so careless.”

Her hand begins to withdraw but then Kara is holding it in place, apparently. “You kissed me,” she states, her words matter-of-fact but still laced with surprise and confusion. 

“I did.”

“So… you know that you kissed me? You meant to do it, and then you did it, and—and it happened.”

Now Lena has her own crinkle happening between her eyebrows. “Yes…”

“And, um.” Kara wets her lips, shifts another inch or two closer, feels it deep in her chest when Lena's smile returns as a result. “You don't have a history of amnesia? You're not prone to extreme forgetfulness, or…?”

Lena's thumb brushes gently against her cheek. “I wouldn't forget this. I wouldn't forget you.”

Kara nods once, then again. “Well. With all of that established, I'd say we can… proceed,” she finishes as casually as she's capable, and it doesn't even matter because Lena's mouth is back on hers and nothing has ever felt so soft and warm. 

“Wait,” Kara still interjects after a long moment, “who else do you have feelings for?”

“I think that's a conversation that can wait,” Lena murmurs, somehow getting the words out without the kisses stopping, and Kara thinks maybe that could be a topic for their next interview. 

“So  _ that's _ why you're not answering your phone.”

Alex's voice jars their lips apart and Kara quickly sits up, attempting to adjust her glasses before remembering a second time that she's not wearing them. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Alex continues, arms crossed over her chest but tone sounding more smug and amused than anything. “I've recently been discouraged from knocking, and I didn't expect anyone else to be here. Hi, Lena.”

“Special Agent Danvers,” Lena greets without missing a beat, and her fingers are playing with Kara’s next to her hip where Alex can’t see, and—

“Did you need something?” Kara blurts.

Alex’s eyes flit between the two of them for a beat. “Just following up on work stuff. Nothing urgent.”

“Please feel free to kick me out if there’s something you need to take care of,” Lena insists even as she grips Kara’s hand.

“It’s nothing that can’t be handled tomorrow,” Alex assures her, then focuses on Kara. “You’ll call me later?” she asks pointedly.

Kara nods like her life depends on it.

“Well. I’m sure I’ll see you soon,” Alex says to Lena, “and I’m reinstating the knocking rule,” she calls out as she backs away from the bedroom then disappears from view.

The front door opens and closes, and Kara collapses back against the pillows. “I can’t believe that just happened,” she groans through her free hand, then glances down at the one tangled with Lena’s, then up at Lena. “Hi,” she says softly, pretending not to feel the heat in her face.

“Hi,” Lena echoes, then lifts their hands to kiss Kara's knuckles. 

“I guess now I know why you were upset after I told you what happened with Mike. I should’ve been more—he and I aren’t…”

Lena sighs. “Like I said. Entirely selfish reasons.”

Kara traces circles along the back of Lena's palm. “I'm sorry I made you think that I didn't—” Her mind blanks at the end of the sentence and she swallows hard. 

“That you didn't what?”

“That I didn't… feel… Lena, I—” she tries again, only for Lena's lips to silence her, and she shakes her head. “No! I  _ want _ to say th—” But she's cut off once more, and she has to try  _ very  _ hard to not use her super strength to push Lena away. 

A beat later, though, Lena pulls back on her own. “Yes?” she asks, and the single word dares Kara to actually say something coherent. “If you feel compelled to negotiate further, I’m sure we can—”

“You know what?” Kara says a little shakily, “I think we're on the same page.”

Lena opens her mouth to speak but now Kara cuts her off with a single kiss. “Unless  _ you _ feel compelled to—?”

There’s more hot breath on her cheek as Lena smiles less than an inch from Kara’s lips. “Very,” she murmurs, “ _ very _ compelled.”

Kara forgets all about her super strength.

 

< \- >

 

“Start from the beginning,” Alex instructs before her butt even hits the stool.

“I’m not even really sure where that is,” Kara admits through a mouthful of potsticker, and glares when Alex gives her a look. “I’m serious! I’ve always thought she was great, y’know, in general…”

Alex holds a hand up to pause Kara. “Except when you didn’t trust her because you thought she had ulterior motives just like every other Luthor…”

“Except she didn’t,” Kara says with a victorious finger-jab, “and I do trust her, and… I don’t know. I guess at some point I just kind of started—”

“Wanting her face on your face?” Alex supplies.

Kara rolls her eyes and stabs the next potsticker with her chopsticks. “If it’s so easy to keep track of this stuff, tell me the exact moment when you fell for Maggie.”

Alex shakes her head. “This isn’t about Maggie and me. This is about Supergirl getting very, very close with the CEO of an historically anti-alien corporation.”

“ _ Technically _ , Kara Danvers is the one getting very, very close with the CEO of an historically anti-alien corporation.”

“Yeah, well, the last time I checked, Kara Danvers and Supergirl are the same person.” Alex sighs, rounding the counter so she can gently nudge shoulders with Kara. “Look. I think before this goes any further, you need to ask yourself if you can handle keeping that secret from her. I know you, and I know how much you value honesty, and this might not be—”

“I want to tell her.” The words slip out before she’s even felt them on her tongue, and she can’t bear to check Alex’s facial expression in the beats of silence that follow. “All of the most important people in my life,” she explains quietly, “everyone that I love… they all know. And it just… doesn’t feel right, not letting her in.” Alex still doesn’t speak, and Kara’s knee bounces under the countertop. “Please don’t be mad, I—”

Alex puts her hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Kara,” she says gently, and Kara goes completely still. “I trust you.”

Kara looks at her now. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Alex replies slowly, carefully, “that if you feel safe telling her, if that’s what you really want, then you can make the call.”

Kara nibbles the corner of another potsticker. “You don’t want me to run it by J’onn?”

Alex sighs, looks on the verge of laughing at herself. “The DEO agent in me says you absolutely should, but the sister in me has seen the way Lena looks at you.”

“How, um—how does she look at me?” Kara manages, sounding a lot less nonchalant than she intended.

“I don’t know,” Alex says with a shrug. “Like you’re Supergirl.” Kara chokes on her latest bite of food and Alex pats her back. “Not literally,” she clarifies. “Like she admires you. Like she thinks you’re the best.” Kara is still coughing and Alex pours her a glass of water. “Sorry. Bad analogy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol Mon-El who


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I moved a few months ago and have been job searching nonstop and then went on vacation and then did more job searching, and I can assure you I'd churn these out every week if I could. I really appreciate your enthusiasm, and most importantly, your patience. 
> 
> Anyways.
> 
> It's been a wild ride, fam. Thanks so much for all your lovely comments. This fic was a nice place to live. Beta'd by usuallyproperlyhydrated with support from SkyWarrior108.

Kara has tried and failed every day this week to not look smug when she breezes right past reception, but whatever guilt she feels always dissipates during her elevator ride and is long gone by the time she gets to Lena’s office.

The space is empty today and Kara spots the CEO in question on the balcony with her phone. She makes her way to the couch and sinks into the cushions, then blushes a little when she spots the latest issue of CatCo magazine sitting on the side table.

“Should I bother asking how you managed to get an advance copy?” Kara asks as Lena comes inside.

Lena grins as she pours two glasses of water and joins Kara on the couch. “I’ve never been a patient person, and you’re the one who showed me the cover photo _and_ let me read a rough draft of your piece. How could I possibly be expected to wait until tomorrow?”

It’s apparently a rhetorical question because Lena cups her cheek and kisses her; softly at first, then with a little more purpose, and she laughs in embarrassment when they finally break apart.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, managing to sound sincere though Kara seriously doubts that’s the case, “I don’t mean to get carried away.”

Kara shakes her head. “Believe me, it would be _very_ easy to kiss you all day.”

Lena smiles again and presses her lips to the corner of Kara’s jaw. “Maybe I could whip up a robot version of myself. She can take care of things here, and I can hide away with you.”

“And what about this other person that you still haven’t told me about?” Kara asks as innocently as possible. “Are they gonna hide with us, too? And, follow-up question, are you _ever_ gonna tell me who they are?”

Lena sighs. “You’ll think it’s… you’ll think _I’m_ ridiculous,” she mutters, her eyes diverting from Kara’s.

“I swear I won’t. Please?” Kara takes her hand and laces their fingers together. “Lena, I promise you can tell me anything.”

She’s silent for a beat. “No judgment?”

“Of course.”

Lena takes a deep breath, still seeming unsure. “It’s a mutual friend of ours,” she says quietly; then, louder: “ _She_ is a mutual friend.” Kara doesn’t react, and Lena rolls her eyes. “About your height? Wears a cape?”

“Oh! _Oh_.” Why has she suddenly forgotten every other word in the English language? “...Oh.”

“I knew you wouldn’t—”

“No no no, I’m sorry, my bad,” Kara interrupts. “It’s absolutely _fine_ that you feel… those things, for… Supergirl,” she finishes, almost choking on the word as her lungs struggle between laughter or maybe, like, hyperventilating.

Lena stares her down, then finally asks “What are you thinking?” and she sounds a lot less confident than she looks.

Kara just shrugs. “I’m—I’m not thinking anything,” she says, barely keeping her voice level. “Except that you have great taste,” she offers and feels her cheeks turn red.

Her response seems to soften Lena, who sighs a second time and rests her head on Kara’s shoulder. “You’re really not upset about this? About—?”

“No! Of course not. She’s incredible.” Kara pauses for an unneeded sip of water. “And very pretty,” she adds, then chuckles breathlessly. “I’ve been dying to ask her what she uses in her hair. I mean, assuming aliens even shower,” she jokes, maybe too determinedly. “And those guns are pretty impressive…”

“Almost as impressive as yours,” Lena agrees.

Kara focuses on laughing at the right volume, then on stopping at the correct time, then on not choking on her next sip. “And like, who knows if she’s wearing anything under that suit, am I right?”

Lena shrugs. “I suppose that’s a valid question. My imagination has only gone so far as a few intimate conversations over dinner, or a glass of wine.”

“Please,” Kara can’t help but challenge even as her chest tightens, “you’re telling me that your only Supergirl fantasies are about _talking_?”

“You think an alien tasked with protecting a human city wouldn’t have a lot to say?” Lena asks, swirling the water around in her glass.

“I’m just saying. It’s a very tight suit.”

Lena gives her a funny look. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you had a bit of a crush on her, yourself.”

Kara shrugs. “If you’re into her, I might as well be too. She’s beautiful, and smart, and brave…”

“And likely doesn’t have the same reservations about sexuality that most humans do,” Lena adds.

“Right,” she manages, “which means she might be totally on board with, y’know, threesomes and stuff. Could be the default on her planet, for all we know.”

Now Lena crooks an eyebrow. “I was speaking more about the same-sex element, and how her species might not even recognize gender as we do… but yes, something to be considered.”

“Right!” Kara agrees, and her mouth is very dry now. “Yeah, no, that’s—you’re totally right.” She clears her throat and praises everything she knows from Kryptonian mythology when her cell phone rings in her bag. “It’s Alex. Give me one second?”

Lena nods and Kara ducks out of the office and into the bathroom down the hall.

“Thank _god_ ,” Kara whispers into her phone.

“What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”

“Not in way that requires guns,” she offers hesitantly.

Alex pauses for a beat. “What other kind of trouble is there?”

“The kind where Lena tells me she has feelings for Supergirl and then I accidentally bring up threesomes?”

“Kara, how on _earth_ —?”

“It was an accident, okay? I was trying to be supportive and I just… may have overdone it,” she finishes carefully.

Alex scoffs on the other end. “Oh, you think?”

Kara adjusts her glasses as everything she’s said in the past few minutes echoes around her skull. “Anyways, you’re the one who called. Please tell me there’s a DEO emergency so I can get out of here without lying.”

“I actually just wanted to ask you to hide the present for Maggie I had delivered to your apartment,” Alex explains, “but since _you_ seem to be having a legitimate emergency, I’d say you’re in the clear.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Kara says in a rush and hangs up the phone, then takes a deep breath and heads back to Lena’s office. “Hey,” she greets, “sorry about that.”

Lena just smiles like she couldn’t be happier that Kara’s returned. “It’s okay. Everything is alright, I hope?”

“It will be,” Kara replies, trying her best to look Lena in the eye, “but I do have to get going, unfortunately.”

Her instant pout is almost enough to convince Kara to stay. “Well, I miss you already,” she says, rising from the couch and brushing her fingertips from Kara’s jaw to her chin, “but I appreciate you stopping by.” She punctuates the sentence with a soft peck on the lips; Kara lets herself follow Lena’s mouth and sneak another one in, and earns a quiet chuckle. “We’re still on for dinner tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Kara promises as she heads for the door, and when she turns around at the last second Lena is right there behind her. She ends up with her back against the wall, no air in her lungs, and Lena’s face inches from her own.

“Are you _sure_ you have to leave?” Lena asks, her voice smooth as silk as her breath tickles Kara’s ear.

Kara’s arms wrap themselves around Lena’s waist without permission. “That’s a complicated question.”

A pair of lips hover over her pulse point. “Is it?”

The door closes beside Kara and her head falls back when she feels the first open-mouthed kiss on her neck. _Don’t use super-strength_ , she begs herself silently, but the first word makes it out in a hushed whisper and Lena freezes.

“Don’t what? Should I stop?”

“No!” Kara blurts, then clears her throat. “U-um, when do you have to get back to work?”

Lena hums thoughtfully against her temple. “Being the CEO of your own company can leave you with a very… flexible… schedule,” she replies, pausing between each word to kiss Kara closer and closer to her lips.

“I should look into becoming the CEO of CatCo,” Kara murmurs breathlessly.

“Is that where you’re headed off to?” Lena jokes. “A meeting with your boss about all the big promotions involved in your five-year plan?”

Kara frowns. “Wait. Did I say I was going somewhere? Because leaving seems a bit—”

“Ridiculous,” Lena finishes for her. “Entirely inappropriate.”

“Doesn’t sound like me at all.”

Lena locks the door.

 

< \- >

 

She’s halfway through an appetizer and more than halfway through convincing herself to order her food without Lena, but her phone finally rings with a call from her very, very late date.

“Hey! Where are you?”

“Stuck in absolute standstill traffic, unfortunately,” Lena replies, and Kara can hear horns honking in the background. “No idea what the holdup is, otherwise I would—”

Her sentence is cut off by what sounds like a muffled explosion, one that Kara feels from her table by the window, and she almost bends her salad fork in half. “Lena, what was that?” More noises, and then a sudden knot in her stomach. “Don’t get out of the car,” she instructs firmly.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Lena grumbles. “These are the same gentlemen who attacked the bridge. Back for round two?” she calls out.

“What are you doing?” Kara’s still holding the fork as she glances out the window, trying to see down the street. “Lena?”

An uncomfortable beat of silence. “You know I don’t like anyone trying to intimidate me, Kara.”

“And you know I like you being alive and in one piece. Seriously, please stay in your car and I’ll—” A _be right there_ stalls in her throat. “I’ll tell Supergirl you’re in trouble. She’ll be there in thirty seconds.”

There’s another explosion and the line disconnects.

She leaves a lot more bills than necessary on the table, runs out the door, and barely remembers to don her cape before she goes airborne and follows the sirens toward one of the busiest intersections in National City. Her super-hearing zeroes in on the cluster of police officers and she swoops down to meet them.

“How can I help?” she demands as her eyes dart around the intersection, looking for any suspicious activity.

“We’re actually okay on this one,” an officer tells her. “We anticipated a second attack so our team shut ‘em down right away.”

Kara wants to breathe a sigh of relief but can’t just yet. “Was anyone hurt?”

He nods. “Yeah, some folks in critical condition.”

“Thanks,” she throws over her shoulder as she whooshes off again, flying over all the commotion and directly to the ambulances. She barely sticks her landing, feet already in motion as she hurries through pair after pair of emergency responders, and she’s about to assume the worst when she hears an authoritative voice coming from the back of an ambulance.

“Stitches are completely unnecessary, I can assure you,” Lena insists, batting away the paramedic’s hands, and then her eyes meet Kara’s and she gets out of the ambulance entirely.

“ _Lena_ ,” Kara gasps in relief and reaches toward the brand new gash on Lena’s forehead. “Why did you do that?” she asks as her fingertips brush hair out of Lena’s face, still scanning every visible inch of Lena for more signs of blood or bruises as Lena leans into the contact. “I-I… Kara called me and said… You could’ve… I don’t know what I would’ve done if…”

Lena looks vulnerable even as she stares Kara down. “If what?”

Kara’s chest tightens and she reluctantly takes her hands back. “If I'd lost you,” Kara manages through the lump in her throat.

Something crashes across Lena's face and then she's kissing Kara, lips just as bold and certain as everything else about her, and Kara’s brain nearly short-circuits from the careful movements against her mouth. But then she feels the cape fluttering behind her, remembers who she is right now in this moment, and her insides are screaming _Lena is kissing_ _Supergirl_ , and she ends it too quickly. “I-I—Lena, what—how _could_ you? I can't—I can't _believe_ you would betray Kara like this.”

“Betray Kara?” Lena echoes after a beat, not seeming the least bit scandalized. “How did you know that she and I are… involved? I wasn't aware she'd told anyone yet.”

This might be the first time since she arrived on Earth that Kara’s forgotten how to breathe. “I—yeah, I was first on the list. Our relationship—uh, friendship, goes beyond—it’s more than just crime-fighting. We’re—um. Very, very close.”

“Oh,” Lena murmurs, pursing her lips in thought as she takes the tiniest step further into Kara’s personal space, “I see.”

Kara can’t look away from Lena’s eyes. “Y-yeah—u-uhh…”

“For what it’s worth,” Lena continues, “I am also very, very close to Kara Danvers.” Lena takes another step toward Kara. “Perhaps closer than I ever imagined I’d be. And I can assure you that I…” She hesitates, her eyes falling to the ground for the briefest moment before they return to Kara’s. “That I would never betray someone I love.”

Kara feels like she’s freefalling toward the National City skyline, wind in her hair and stomach in her throat and the whole world rushing at her all at once. The usual deflections wait on the tip of her tongue, but the sudden moisture in her eyes makes her feel a lot less clever and no words make it out of her mouth.

Then Lena’s fingertips are gliding through her hair. “ _Kara_ ,” Lena whispers, and a tear falls down Kara’s cheek as she nods, each movement slow and terrified until Lena smiles so big that there’s just no point in feeling anything negative.

When Lena kisses her again, Kara doesn’t stop her, and everything is soft and warm and sweet and _finally_ and she doesn’t worry about any powers this time, might not even be able to list them all on her fingers while these lips are against hers.

She’s sure she’s imagining the fireworks around them, but when they part they find themselves surrounded by camera flashes.

“Supergirl!” a reporter at the front of the group calls out. “Miss Luthor! Care to comment on—?”

“Get us out of here?” Lena asks Kara with a grin.

Kara has her off her feet a moment later. “I’ve got you,” she promises, then sets off.

 

< \- >

 

Lena isn’t shaking when they reach Kara’s apartment, but she still doesn’t let go; her arms stay wrapped around Kara’s shoulders like they’re at a high school dance, and she’s smiling again.

“Kara,” she repeats, voice a little awestruck, as if she’s learning her name for the first time, and in a way, maybe she is.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Kara chokes out, pulling Lena across the room and sitting her on the bed. She gets her first aid kit and a damp facecloth from the bathroom, steadies herself with a deep breath, and returns to Lena with her heart hammering in her chest, trying not to feel Lena’s eyes on her as she dabs at Lena’s cut.

“I didn’t realize that superheroes bled,” Lena says, eyeing the kit that Kara’s set aside.

“It’s more for everyone else’s benefit than for mine,” Kara murmurs, then takes a bandage out of its packaging. “Hold still.” Lena does just that, staring Kara down yet again as she carefully applies the bandage over the thick crimson line.

“How did you fool my alien detection device?” Lena asks abruptly.

Kara shrugs a shoulder. “Fried it with my heat vision when you weren’t looking.”

Lena chuckles softly. “I knew I smelled something burning. Thanks for that repair bill, by the way.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara says with a grimace as she closes the kit. “I hate having to do stuff like that, but—I—can I try to make it up to you somehow, maybe?”

“No need.”

Kara shakes her head. “No, really, I feel terrible. That prototype must’ve cost you a fortune to—”

“There’s no need,” Lena interrupts gently, “because I’m not having it repaired. L-Corp will retain the patents, but I’ve ended all development and production.”

Kara’s mouth opens and closes without any sound coming out. “I-I—why? What happened to everyone having the right to know—?”

Lena raises her hand to cut Kara off. “I know what I said. And while I do still understand people’s desire for transparency, recent personal experiences have… adjusted my priorities.”

“Recent personal experiences have adjusted your priorities,” Kara echoes dramatically and with a coy smile. “Sounds like a press release, yet still manages to be incredibly sweet. I’m impressed.” She lets out a deep breath and takes Lena’s hands into hers. “Thank you.”

Two sets of fingers squeeze back, but there’s something heavy about it, and Kara takes a careful seat beside her. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you,” she says quietly. “And I’ll understand if you’re upset with me, o-or angry, or…” She swallows hard. “I lied to you. A _lot_. So I honestly wouldn’t blame you at all.”

Lena pulls her hand away but then turns Kara’s face toward her. “I’m angrier with myself,” she whispers, ghosting her thumb across Kara’s cheek. “For not doing more to convince you to trust me.”

“It had nothing to do with trust,” Kara insists.

“We both know that’s not true,” Lena replies softly, tracing Kara’s jaw line with a gentle fingertip. “And that’s okay.”

Kara shakes her head even as she leans into the contact. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I would never want you to think that.” She pauses, looking down at her lap; at her blue sleeves, red skirt, and cape flowing over the edge of the mattress. “Give me your hand,” she instructs a beat later, and the fingers against her cheek allow her to move them to her shoulder. Kara guides Lena into the collar of her shirt and together they unfasten one corner of her cape, then switch to the other side and do the same, and the fabric falls onto the bedspread.

“What are you doing?” Lena asks, the words full of curious uncertainty.

Kara turns her back to Lena and moves her hair aside. “There’s a secret flap that hides the zipper,” she says in lieu of an actual answer, then waits and eventually feels tentative movements along her spine as Lena unzips, her hand slowing as it reveals the bare skin of Kara's back. She shivers a little, both from the open air and feeling Lena’s eyes on her, and grabs a t-shirt that’s draped over the armchair. “Help me with my boots?” she asks as she shrugs into the shirt, and by the time she pulls it over her head, Lena is already crouched in front of her.

Left zipper, left boot off, right zipper, right boot off; all with a careful precision that makes this seem like a much bigger deal than taking off shoes. “Can you grab some pajama bottoms from the top right drawer?”

She sheds her tights while Lena’s back is turned and pulls on the soft pants that Lena hands her, then slips off her skirt.

“And the final touch,” Kara announces, holding out an elastic. Lena takes it, then gently combs through Kara’s hair with her fingers until she can tie it all back into a loose ponytail. When the hands disappear, Kara turns and holds out her arms. “There,” she says, trying to ignore the self-conscious heat in her face. “Supergirl, Kara Danvers, and everything in between.”

Lena’s eyes are glassy and her smile vibrant as Kara extends her hand. “Kara Zor-El. Pleased to meet you.”

 

< \- >

 

Kara downs another shot.

“That’s… not necessarily proof,” she insists as Lena pats one of the legs that’s draped over hers on Kara’s couch.

“Ooh, here’s a good one,” Lena continues. “When you came to my office to show me that photo from the gala? Definitely used the wrong pronouns.”

Maggie lets out a loud laugh and Alex shakes her head. “Kara, you have got to be kidding me.”

Kara pouts at her sister. “Hey, _you_ try talking in third person half the time.” She jabs a finger at Lena. “And _you_ stop laughing,” she slurs, then turns to Maggie. “And _you_ …”

“Thanks for tracking down that Aldebaran rum supplier,” Lena finishes for her, raising her glass of wine in appreciation.

“Traitor!” Kara blurts. “Alex, I can’t believe you let this happen.”

Alex gives her a look. “I can’t believe you’ve been so careless about protecting your identity.”

“Well I can’t believe anyone thinks the glasses trick actually works,” Maggie mutters into a sip of her own drink.

Kara pouts and takes her glasses off, then winds up to throw them across the room, but Lena catches her wrist and gently wrestles the glasses out of Kara’s grip.

“They may be a terrible disguise,” she says, setting them on the coffee table, “but you look _very_ cute in them.”

“I think you’re a little biased,” Kara retorts.

Lena brings her hand to her chest, looking scandalized. “Kara, I’ve built my entire career around science and math. L-Corp’s projects only succeed because we use thoroughly researched data… the most _infallible_ calculations.” She takes another sip of wine. “I never make a claim without sufficient evidence to support it.”

Maggie leans closer to Alex. “Is this how they flirt?” she whispers.

“Oh please, like you’re any less of a nerd,” Alex replies, and earns a playful elbow.

“What evidence?” Kara demands while barely managing to pour herself another shot. She knocks it back and scoots closer to Lena. “Are you saying you have, like, some file in your office about how cute I am?”

Lena shrugs a shoulder. “If I did, it would be highly classified and you’d need top security clearance for me to share any of my findings with you.”

Kara laughs incredulously. “I’m _Supergirl_ ,” she counters, then presses her hands over her mouth, then thinks for a beat and sighs in relief. “Which you know,” she confirms to Lena, then glances at Alex, “so it’s okay that I said that.”

“Yeah,” Alex deadpans, “everything’s great. Just super.” She tosses Lena an apologetic look. “No offense.”

Lena waves her off while Kara giggles in the background. “ _Super_ ,” Kara repeats like it’s the funniest joke she’s ever heard, and grabs her phone when it vibrates against the table. “Whoa…” she gasps with wonder.

“Is something wrong?” Lena asks.

Kara looks at Alex and then at Maggie before holding her hand to her mouth to block it from view. “James sent me a photo of us kissing,” she stage-whispers to Lena. “Like, you and Supergirl-me.”

“We can hear you, sweetie,” Maggie says with a wink.

Kara clears her throat and continues at a normal volume. “He said Snapper’s trying to decide if you cheating _on_ Supergirl or _with_ Supergirl makes a better headline.”

Lena pulls out her own phone. “Should I make some calls? Have it shut down?”

“I’ll handle this,” Kara declares, hitting a few buttons then bringing the phone to her ear. Lena gestures for the phone but Kara bats her hand away. “James! Kara Danvers here. About that headline,” she slurs. “Tell Snapper that Lena is, in fact, dating two of National City’s coolest, most badass women. _And_ that everyone involved is totally fine with it. And that maybe he should do some research before assuming the worst of people he hasn’t even bothered to ask for a quote. Y’know, while you’re at it, tell him that if he doesn’t think he can handle standard journalism practices—”

Now Lena finally takes the phone. “Hello James, Lena speaking. Why don’t you tell him that Supergirl and I would be happy to sit down with any CatCo representative for an exclusive interview, and that Kara can arrange all the details with him on Monday, when she’s sober.” She listens, then smiles. “Excellent. We look forward to it.”

She ends the call and puts Kara’s phone back on the table, out of her reach, rather than return it.

“Went right for the polyamory route, huh?” Alex mutters before finishing off her drink.

“Why not?” Lena challenges thoughtfully. “It’s a simple and reasonable explanation for my spending lots of time with both Kara and Supergirl… she won’t have to worry about only one of her identities being seen with me… and my feelings for them did develop separately, so the only lie we’re protecting is that Kara and Supergirl are the same person.” She throws up her hands in a shrug. “I see no harm.”

Kara gestures at Lena victoriously. “See?” she says to Alex. “Infallible calculations.”

Alex stares hard into her empty glass. “That’s… a surprisingly foolproof plan,” she says like she can’t quite believe she’s saying the words out loud.

“We would just need to figure out a plan for if we get married,” Kara continues. “‘Cause Kara Danvers and Supergirl can’t be in the same place at the same time, so you could only marry one of us. Or maybe just one at a time?” She thinks hard for a beat, then shakes her head. “That’s a problem for future Kara,” she decides, curling up with her head resting in Lena’s lap.

Alex exchanges glances with Maggie, who refills both of their glasses.

Kara’s phone buzzes against the table once more but she doesn’t try to grab it this time. “Is it James again?” she asks sleepily. “If it’s Snapper, send him a bunch of passive-aggressive emojis. He’ll hate that.”

Lena peers at the screen. “Cat Grant says congratulations and that she didn’t think anyone would top her fling with Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Craig.” A confused pause. “Who’s Kiera?”

“My other identity,” Kara sighs.

“Why am I not surprised?” Lena says, combing her fingers through Kara’s hair a few times before easing the elastic off and letting the locks fall around her shoulders. “You are so beautiful,” she muses softly.

Kara smiles as her eyes close. “I bet you say that to all the Kryptonians masquerading as reporters.”

“Are you implying there’s more than one?”

“That’s highly classified.”

 

< \- > < \- > < \- > < \- >

 

_It’s so hard to motivate me to devote_   
_A single inch of me to something I can’t see_ _  
I don’t mean to pry, but why would you even make the eyes?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4,400 words without even trying. These two are unbelievable.


End file.
